A printed linen panel entitled “Maud”
manufactured by Besselievre at Maromme Rouen
For Omega workshop ‘Omega’ printed in selvedge: ‘
Measurements; 49 inches by 16 inches

“Maud” is one of only six designs for Omega Workshops . The designers were Duncan Grant, Roger Fry, Frederick Etchells and Vanessa Bell. The private view and opening party for Omega took place on 8th July 1913. “Names for the half-dozen printed linens were supposedly given by the German Ambassador’s wife, Princess Lichnowsky, at the opening party. They were ‘White’, ‘Maud’ (named after Lady Cunard), ‘Mechtilde’ (named after herself), ‘Amenophis’, ‘Margery’ and ‘Pamela’ (the last two named after Fry’s sister and daughter).” [Anscombe:1981]. There is a cushion covered in’ Maud’ depicted in Roger Fry’s 1917 portrait of Nina Hamnett. Provenance: Florence Hodgkin friend of Roger Fry

Literature: Valerie Mendes, The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Textile Collection, British Textiles from 1900 to 1937, Victoria and Albert Museum, London 1992, p.20; ill. p.39.

Isabelle Anscombe, Omega and After, Bloomsbury and the Decorative Arts, Thames and Hudson, London 1981, p.28. For Roger Fry’s 1917 portrait of Nina Hamnett, see Omega Workshops, 1913-1919. London : Crafts Council, 1983. p. 91 made by Besselievre at Maromme, Rouen in 1913.